This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Layton targets Tory ridings in pre-election tour

NDP Leader Jack Layton is embarking on a pre-election tour taking direct aim at the Prime Minister in Tory ridings across the country.

By Joan BrydenThe Canadian Press

Tues., Jan. 11, 2011

OTTAWA—New Democrats believe their best hope for growth in the next election lies in ridings held by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

That’s why NDP Leader Jack Layton is embarking on a pre-election tour taking direct aim at the Prime Minister in primarily Tory ridings across the country.

He kicked off the tour Tuesday in Sault Ste. Marie, where he called on Harper to “stop gouging” consumers and remove the harmonized sales tax on home heating fuel.

He’ll hit another 17 communities from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador by Jan. 26, when the NDP caucus is slated to meet to plot a strategy for the Jan. 31 resumption of Parliament.

Along the way, Layton intends to introduce a handful of new candidates and unveil a couple of platform planks — on Senate reform and Canada’s future role in Afghanistan.

Article Continued Below

He doesn’t plan to waste time talking about fellow opposition leaders Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe.

“The thrust of it is to set the stage to challenge Stephen Harper in 2011,” said NDP national director Brad Lavigne. “We have a singular focus and that is Stephen Harper.”

Layton’s approach contrasts with that of Ignatieff, who kicks off a “20/11” cross-country tour Wednesday.

The Liberal leader is hitting 20 ridings in 11 days, concentrating on vulnerable ridings he believes his party can steal away from the Tories, NDP and Bloc Québécois. Liberal insiders say Ignatieff’s message will be aimed convincing NDP and Bloc supporters that the next election will be a two-party contest, and that they must vote Liberal if they want to get rid of the Harper Tories.

Lavigne said Ignatieff’s message “is not true” on two counts. He argued that Liberal seat losses resulted in Harper winning two consecutive minority victories and those Liberals who did win have wound up “more times than not . . . actually voting with the Conservatives to implement their agenda.”

In any event, Lavigne said Layton won’t waste his time attacking rival opposition parties.

“We know that we attract Liberal and Bloc voters, not by going into their seats and saying what bad people they are, but rather by our sharp criticism and contrast with Stephen Harper.”

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com